Presque Isle earns junior softball title
FORT FAIRFIELD – Presque Isle met Oakfield in the championship game of the Maine Potato Blossom Festival junior girls softball tournament last Tuesday.
Olivia Hudson pitched four no-hit, shutout innings; Taylor Williams showed off her arm from behind the plate, throwing out four base runners attempting to steal; and Kelsey Gilson came on in relief to pitch two shutout innings to secure the championship for Presque Isle with a 13-0 victory.
Gilson finished the day the way she started it from the plate. She had three hits and scored three runs for the offense. Megan McKnight and Megan Seward contributed two hits each for the offense. Hailey Cameron, Jessica Cameron, Emily Colligan and Lee Ireland contributed timely hits to add to the Presque Isle lead.
Fort Fairfield and Ashland tied for third in the eight-team tourney for girls 12 years of age and younger. Other teams participating were Limestone, Madawaska and Washburn.
Hudson, Ireland and Gilson combined to throw a three-hit shutout against Caribou in the first game of the annual tournament last Tuesday.
Gilson also helped her cause offensively by scoring four runs on four hits. Hailey Cameron, Jessica Cameron and Williams added two hits apiece.
Presque Isle played a short-handed Ashland team in game two of the day and came away with an 18-2 victory. Hudson pitched two scoreless innings, striking out four of the six batters she faced. Ireland came in to pitch three strong innings to secure the victory.
Defensively, the Presque Isle team played very well and Williams threw out the two base runners attempting to steal second. Seward led the offense with three hits, which included a home run, triple and single. McKnight contributed three hits while Hudson added two hits. Gilson continued to swing a hot bat adding a home run, while Colligan, Jessica Cameron and Williams added a hit each.
Staff photo/Kevin Sjoberg
HAILEY CAMERON picks up a ground ball and prepares to throw it across the diamond for an out during last Tuesday’s junior girls softball tournament in Fort Fairfield. Cameron’s Presque Isle team won the tourney.